Blue Moon motel
1750 Words
Alora's p.o.v
“Irene was at the house to see you the morning of the wedding?” I whisper to Seth not taking my eyes off Irene who's grinning at us. I need some kind of lead so I know what questions to ask Irene. I can't disclose my true identity till I know that I can trust her.
“Oh yes, something about replacing you because you had run away” Seth whispers then immediately smiles at Irene who has just approached us.
“It’s the newly weds! I'm so glad you guys left that depressing house for one minute!” She exclaims.
“Irene, wonderful party” Seth says and Irene flashes a smile as well.
“Thank you, Seth,” She says.
“I'll find you, later” He says to me and leaves us to join a group of men, it seems he's well acquainted with them.
Irene surprises me by pulling me into a hug.
“I've missed you, Zay” She says when she pulls away.
“What the f**k did you do to your phone? Why haven't I been able to reach you? I could have used your opinion for the party” She asks.
I don't know what to say. I lost my phone and Zaylee is missing. That's why you can't reach her?
“I-”
“Zaylee and Irene Callahan, you twins are so precious! Look at what you've done with this new years party!” An elderly woman exclaims approaching us alongside a man about her age.
“We’ll get back to this later” Irene whispers and turns to them.
Irene is smiling at them so I follow suit, I'm supposed to know people at this party.
“Joe and Ana! How was Christmas?” Irene asks.
Irene does most of the talking while I mostly nod and smile, she asks about their health and their dog whom they've brought with them once to the hotel.
“I can't wait to see Malcom again, he was such a nice dog wasn't he Zay?” Irene nudges me and I nod.
“He was amazing” I say.
“Then we’ll bring him next time,” Mr. Smith says.
“Yes, thank you again Zaylee for that lovely portrait you made, I've been getting so many compliments! You're going to be booked and busy after the new year trust me” Ana says.
“Self portrait?” The question leaves my mouth before I can process my thoughts.
She's an artist? That explains the painting room in the mansion! I thought Seth put that room together but it was Zaylee all along? I’m a shitty painter so if I'm going to have to seriously lift a paint brush I might as well tell everyone I'm not Zaylee right now.
“Yes, I came to your art studio and sat for 3 hours for it” Ana says.
There's an art studio?
“Thank you, Ana, she looks forward to it” Irene answers for me. I'm so lost in my thoughts.
“Right, say hello to your father for us, where has he gone now?” Mrs Smith asks, staring at me and my heart begins to race. f**k, I don't even know his name!
“Uh…I'm sure he's around here somewhere” I say and Irene shoots me a look that makes me regret my choice of words instantly.
“My I haven't seen him all night” Mrs Smith says.
Irene laughs. “What my sister meant is Matthew travelled to Spain on Vacation, raising two girls can be exhausting can't it?” Irene asks and they burst into laughter, nodding in agreement.
“Why don't you guys go and get something from the buffet? We'll see you later” Irene says and we wish them a happy new year as they leave.
“He's around here somewhere?” Irene asks. She caught onto that. How was I supposed to know he travelled?
“That was a joke” I say. It wasn't.
“You're better at talking to people than I am yet you let me man that entire conversation” She says.
“Well you have to learn,” I say as I grab a glass of wine from a passing tray and gulp everything down. Oh my, the room is suddenly so hot.
“What the hell? You don't even drink alcohol” Irene says, staring at me with a mix of shock and concern. What did Zaylee do when she was stressed then?!
“It's a new habit” I say and she shakes her head.
“You're acting f*****g weird, what has Seth done to you?” She asks.
“Speaking of Seth, I hear you were at the house that day of the wedding?” I ask. I had to think of something to get the attention off myself.
She smirks and grabs a drink from a passing tray. “Yes” She admits and I raise my brows, urging her to go on.
“I asked Seth to marry me” She shrugs.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You clearly didn't want this marriage from the start and when you didn't show up I assumed you ran away, I was just trying to help you” She says and I scoff.
“Help me out or help yourself out?” I ask and she rolls her eyes.
“Does it matter? god, you're so ungrateful” She says.
“And what exactly did you do in my room, Irene?” I ask.
“You know what, we shouldn't be discussing this here” She whispers as she grabs my hand and leads me out of the room. I look across the room at where Seth is chatting and drinking with his friends and my heart skips when he catches my gaze and I quickly look away. He's so annoying.
Irene leads us into an empty restroom and locks us inside.
“What really happened that night?” She asks.
“What are you talking about?” I ask and she frowns.
“I don't know Zay, you text me to meet you somewhere because you have something important to tell me that can't wait and it has to be at Blue Moon motel I have no f*****g idea why, I didn't even know that place existed” She pauses and makes a disgusted face before she continues.
“I arrive at the motel and your car is there, then just before I get to the room I hear-” She pauses, tears have pooled in her eyes.
What did she hear and how does this story end?
“I got scared, Zay I didn't know if you were the one in there but I got scared and ran away but I'm so glad that you're okay, really” She bursts into tears mid sentence and grabs my hands.
“What did you hear, Irene?” I ask.
“Your hands are so cold” Irene says as she squeezes them gently.
“I heard something that sounded like struggling then glass shattering” She says.
Oh no.
“And my diary pages?” I ask. Right now I'm sure she took them. Irene shakes her head.
“It was nothing serious, just your entry of that day where you wrote that you were going to meet with me and the one where you wrote that I tried to drown you” She says and my eyes go wide in shock.
She tried to drown Zaylee?! I can't believe this.
“You tried to drown me?!” I scream. It comes out more of a question. What normal person tries to drown anyone?
“I told you it was a mistake yet you went ahead to write it down like I was a villain! I know we hate each other sometimes…okay most of the time but I would never hurt-”
I don't even hear much of what she's saying. I'm trying to process all of this, I think something bad has happened to Zaylee and Irene might be involved in some way.
“Why were you in a hurry to get rid of those pages, Irene?” I ask.
“If you really want me to say it fine, I thought you had gotten in some kind of trouble at that motel and I didn't want it to look like I had anything to do with it so I took the damn pages” She says.
She thought Zaylee was…dead and what if she is because no one was there to help her, the dam has finally broken so I let the tears flow. I realize that I truly don't know what it is I'm doing here. I'm walking around in these expensive attire in this massive hotel talking to strangers as if I've known them my whole life all the while I don't know what I'm doing, all the while an unspeakable thought towers over my head and now I have to ask it. What if Zaylee didn't just run away? What if there is something more to all of this?
“Why didn't you call anyone if you thought I was in trouble?” I ask.
“I…I don't know Zaylee I'm not perfect and all knowing like you okay? I panicked” She says, wiping her tear stained cheeks.
I don't believe her.
“You knew something might be wrong yet all you told Seth was that I'd run away and asked him to marry you, really? Panicked my ass” I say.
At least I've learnt that I can't trust her and I'm in this alone.
“I'm sorry,” She says.
“No, you're not” I say as I wipe my eyes, thankful this is waterproof mascara. “I'll be at the party” I say and unlock the door.
“Wait, what happened at the motel? What were you going to tell me? Why are you making this such a huge deal? You're okay are you not or did someone hurt you?” She asks.
“Now you care” I give her a round of applause before I head back to the party. Zaylee knew something, something she wanted Irene to know as well, co
nvinced it's something important because why else would she want to meet somewhere foreign and what on earth happened in that motel room that night?
- Writer
